The Werelupe Saga, Chapter 1: Part Three

"Oh please no! I didn't know it was your house! Please don't
kill me!" The Lupe began to cry thinking his life was over.

"Shut up. I'm not going to kill you," I growled
angrily. Just then, Maylas came bursting into my room.

"Colbolt! What's going on? I heard a struggle!"
he said. Then he saw the mutant Lupe tied up on the floor.

"Oh, I see you already took care of it," he
sighed in relief.

"Yeah, but what are we going to do with him?"
I asked. Maylas shrugged. Then I had an idea come to me.

"Oh wait. I have the perfect punish-" I didn't
get to finish when an earth shattering explosion came from outside. I fell to
the floor as the whole house shook.

"What was that?" I yelled getting back up and
looking out the window. A huge cloud of smoke was coming from the city along
with an orange glow.

"The city is on fire!" Maylas cried out beside
me.

I blinked my eyes in disbelief. How? Why? A
pit seemed to form in my stomach. I had to go to the city. Something was there.
Something told me I had to go.

I turned quickly, almost knocking Maylas over,
and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Maylas ran after me.

"I have to go to the city," I looked back briefly
ready to run out the door.

"Hold on. You've been acting strangely for the
past few days. It could be dangerous in the city," Maylas explained. I clenched
my paw.

"Maylas, I don't know how to explain what's
been going on. But I know this fire is my fault. I don't know how but it is.
I have to go there. I want you to stay here where its safe, okay? I'll be right
back," I quickly opened the door and ran out, not letting Maylas to react.

I kept running in the direction of the city.
I could smell the fire as it slowly consumed the buildings. Other Neopets were
running in the opposite direction of mine carrying little valuables and screaming.

"Colbolt!"

I turned to see Maylas running behind me, trying
to catch up, with a red wagon trailing behind him. The mutant Lupe laid in the
wagon still tied up.

"Maylas! I told you to stay home!" I yelled
at him. He came up to me panting.

"Yeah right. I'm going to find out why you've
been acting strangely Colbolt. You're not telling me the whole truth. And until
you do, I'm following you the whole way," he gasped. I looked back at the Lupe
Maylas caught my glance and gave a grunt.

"Like I was going to let him home alone in our
house," he spat. The mutant Lupe gave a whine.

"Fine. Lets go," I almost took off again when
another voice called my name.

"Colbolt! Hold on!"

I saw Moon running towards us at full speed.

"What's wrong Moon?" I asked.

"It's Khell. He was left at the hospital over
night to get rid of the Mootix. And now the city's on fire! We have to save
him!" She begged.

"Then lets stop talking and go!" I told all
of them. We ran towards the city.

Flames licked at every building, setting it
ablaze. I quickly thought of the quickest route to the hospital and headed in
that direction. In a few moments, the white building loomed before us, already
half burned away.

"Khell!" Moon cried running towards the building
ahead of us. We finally caught up to her trying to enter the building, but burning
timber blocked the only entrance.

"Khell!" Moon cried inside, hoping her brother
would hear her.

"Uh, Moon?" Maylas nudge her in the side and
pointed towards a part of the building. There, sitting on rubble, with a marshmallow
on the end of a stick over the fire, sat the faerie Gelert with his tongue poking
out of the side of his muzzle.

"Roasting marshmallows," Khell answered, a drop
of drool fell from his tongue.

"Did the Mootix tell you to do this?" Moon sighed
in disbelief.

"No. They ran when they heard the howling,"
Khell pulled the marshmallow from the fire. The marshmallow was still on aflame.

"Mmm. Nice and hot," he was about to put it
in his mouth when I slapped it away.

"What howling Khell?" I asked quickly.

"My marshmallow..." Khell said sadly. I gripped
him by the shoulders.

"Khell! What howling?" I asked again more forcefully.
As if on cue, a blood curling howl rose about us. A terrible and familiar howl.

"That one," Khell finally answered. I paid him
no attention. In our distraction of looking for Khell, the mutant Lupe had escaped.

"Where'd he go?" I growled picking up my weapon.
A shrill yelp came from the street ahead of us. I didn't hesitate a second more.
I sprinted straight for the street and turned the corner to see the mutant Lupe
being held by a Werelupe.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Another Werelupe?
Here? I shook my head bringing me back to reality to see the Werelupe about
to crush his victim in his massive arms.

"Let him go!" I whipped my battle claw at the
beast, striking him across the muzzle. The Werelupe howled in pain and dropped
the mutant Lupe He stumbled to his feet, trying to get his bearings.

"Get out of there!" I yelled at him. The Lupe
looked at me and ran behind us. I turned to make sure he was okay, my fatal
mistake.

The Werelupe had recovered from my blow and
charged. I had turned my head back too late to see his fist collide with the
side of my muzzle. I skidded across the pavement from the power of the blow,
losing my weapon. Any blow like that done to a regular Lupe would've killed
them, but I wasn't a regular Lupe

The Werelupe didn't relent. He grabbed be by
the scruff on the back of my neck and threw me across the road.

"Leave him alone!" Maylas came charging at the
Werelupe and blew a breath of fire at it. The Werelupe easily dodged to the
side and shoulder slammed him down. Maylas fell hard and smacked against the
ground, barely moving. The Werelupe bared his claws and fangs, ready to make
the kill. My body felt trashed, I could barely move.

"That's enough Kazzer," a deep and powerful
voice boomed. The Werelupe slowly backed away from Maylas. I looked up to see
an old and grey Werelupe surrounded by more than a dozen other Werelupes. He
held a staff in his paws and looked over my friends and then me. A wicked and
cold smile formed on his maw.

"So Colbolt. We finally meet face to face."
He gave a deep and shuddering chuckle. Then it struck me. His voice was the
same one that had been in my mind before!

"You-you were the one that kept talking to me
in my head!" I accused. The Werelupe's smile didn't fade.

"Yes. I was hoping we didn't have to do this
the hard way. But when you ignored my callings, more...drastic measures were
needed," he showed a slight glimmer of his teeth as he looked around at the
city. I was in disbelief.

"You did this? You destroyed half the city just
to draw out me? Why?" I staggered to my feet.

"Why? Because Colbolt, you are one of us! Yet,
you never acted like us. You refused your Werelupe instincts and never joined
our pack. We became impatient on waiting and decided to come for you," the old
Werelupe explained.

"I never said I was one of you. And I plan not
to be!" I charged at the Werelupe only to be stopped by Kazzer. He rammed his
fist into my gut, knocking the wind out of me. I doubled over, gasping for breath.

"Why do you torment yourself Colbolt? Transform
and show your true self," the old Werelupe said. I could sense the prying eyes
of some Neopets who hadn't left the city and hid in the rubble. They were watching
every bit of the fight.

"Never," I spat at him. The old Werelupe raised
an eyebrow.

"Perhaps some more persuasion is in order,"
the old Werelupe gave an invisible signal. Half a dozen of Werelupes charged
at my friends, pinning them against walls with their claws and teeth bared at
their exposed necks.

"You jerk!" I yelled trying to get up. I was
met by a sift kick to the gut from Kazzer causing me to spit up blood.

"You will show more respect to the Sage!" He
growled angrily.

"Its your choice now Colbolt. Either transform,
or your friend's lives are forfeited," the Sage growled. I looked at my friends
to see them struggling against the Werelupes grasps to no avail.

"Will you let them go if I do?" I questioned,
struggling again to my feet.

"We shall see," the Sage growled, not allowing
me to make a bargain. I clenched my paws at my side and looked towards my friends
again. I closed my eyes and remembered I was doing it for them.

I willed myself to transform. My muscles began
to bulge, my fur growing darker and thicker. My fangs extended as my ears lengthened.
I heard a faint gasps from somewhere under the rubble. I felt a twang of pain
from the gasps from how deceitful I had been to them and what trouble I had
caused.

I opened my eyes and stared directly at the
Sage.

"Are you satisfied?" I growled angrily.

"Very. Don't you feel better this way Colbolt?"
the Sage answered, his voice softer. I felt a sudden calmness come over me.
I did feel better. The transformation had healed most of my wounds and I felt
more at peace than ever.

"You could feel like this as long as you want
Colbolt. Never have to worry about anything else," the Werelupe Sage continued.

"No worries," I answered. Everything was drifting
away. It was only me and the Werelupe Sage alone in darkness. I heard someone
or something calling my name. But I couldn't remember who it was.

"We can take care of you Colbolt. You can join
our pack and we can become family. We can take care of you," the Sage's words
echoed around me.

"Take care of me," I echoed. But why did it
feel as though I should be doing something else now? I couldn't remember!

Suddenly, there was another presence with us.
I couldn't see him, but I could feel him there. The Werelupe Sage made no notation
of a third party.

"He lies! He has nothing to do with us!"

The voice sounded strong and powerful as it
echoed in my head. But where was it coming from?

And suddenly we were back at the city. The fires
roared around us and my friends were still hostages. The voice, however, was
gone.

"What do you say Colbolt? Will you join our
family?" The Werelupe Sage sneered.

"A family," I played along with his game as
I came back to my senses. I started a slow walk towards the Werelupe Sage.

"A family takes care of each other," I said
in a mono tone and slowly veering towards the captives.

"What are you doing?" the Sage growled angrily.

"Taking care of my family!" I went straight
into a run at the Werelupe holding Maylas. It was too late for any of them to
react to my attack. One punch sent the Werelupe off of Maylas and into the one
holding Moon. Both of them were set free.

"Kill them all!" the Sage roared. The other
Werelupes didn't get the chance as Moon headed butted the Werelupe holding Khell
in the gut, causing it to double over in pain. Maylas let out a burst of flame
from his mouth at the Werelupe holding the mutant Lupe The Werelupe's back caught
on fired and it howled in pain, dropping the mutant.

Then I felt extreme pain in my right shoulder.
I cried out and turned to see Kazzer with his teeth buried in my shoulder. I
clenched my fist and punched him straight between the eyes . Kazzer released
immediately and ran back to the sage's side with a yelp. The other Werelupes
followed. I awaited for an all out attack, but instead, the Sage turned his
back from us!

"We will deal with you another time Colbolt.
But for now, we will let the town decide your fate," he ended his words with
a sickening laugh. I growled in rage and charged at them. A huge wall of flame
appeared in front of me as I got close. I quickly put my hands in front of my
face and backed away. I watched as the Werelupes disappeared into the darkness.

"Are you all okay?" I asked shifting back to
my normal form. I gripped my shoulder from Kazzer's bite marks. The wound was
deep and still bleeding.

"We're fine. But what about you? That wound
looks bad," Maylas answered.

"Its nothing really. I'll be fine," I lied.
There was a sudden clatter of rocks and we turned to see a beaten and bruised
red Kougra come out from under the rubble. Hatred and vengeance burned in his
eyes.

"You! Its all your fault that those Werelupes
came! They were after you!" He pointed accusingly at me.

"I never want-"

"Its your fault they destroyed our town thinking
one of their kind was living around here. But you never went to them or left.
Instead you hid like a coward here!" a yellow Lenny spat angrily. More and more
town pets came out, all angry at me and making accusations.

I didn't know what to do. I stared at all of
them, my mouth hanging opening. Then, I ran. I ran out of the city and back
to my house. I slammed and locked the door, leaning against it, waiting for
the whole town to come crashing in. But it never happened. I stayed in that
position for a few more minutes and finally relaxed. There was a sudden knock
on the door. I tensed up, ready to take off into a run if the house was broken
into. Another knock came.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled out to them.

"Its us Colbolt. Let us in," Maylas' voice came
through the door. I unlocked it slowly and opened it only a crack to see through.
It was Maylas, Moon, Khell, and even the mutant Lupe I opened it the whole way
and let them in. They were covered in ashes and scrapes.

"The town is in an uproar. Any neopet who saw
you transform are ready to tear you limb from limb," Moon explained. It didn't
make me feel any better.

"Don't they understand I fought off the Werelupes?
I wasn't one of them?" I said angrily. No one spoke. We all knew the answer.
I turned my head towards the mutant Lupe

"Why did you come?" I asked. The Lupe looked
down at his paws.

"Well, you saved my life back there from Kazzer.
He would've squished me easily if you hadn't come and saved me. No one has ever
done anything like that for me before," he said honestly. He pulled my Lupe
battle claw from behind his back and held it out for me.

"Well, Lunar, you may want to get going. Those
Neopets are going to be here soon. Its not safe here," I told him. Lunar shook
his head.

"No way am I leaving. You saved my life Colbolt.
And I'm in debt until I find someway to pay you back. Even if it means staying
by your side against all odds," he stated firmly, I put one of my arms around
the Lupe's shoulders.

"You know, I'm going to hold you to those words
Lunar. But don't think of being in debt to me the whole time. Think of me as
your friend," I held out my paw to him.

"Friends," he shook it with his own paw. I looked
out the window and saw flames coming towards my house.

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Gilbert the Poogle: Part Three"Don't be so sad, Gilbert," Ruby tried her best
to console the wailing Poogle. "It isn't your fault for not being adept at games.
Um, how about your owner? She would have enough Neopoints to spend."